


Moment's notice

by tonamilahyene



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: 50s, Alternate Universe - Human, Dancing, Fluff, M/M, teddy boy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:14:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25179820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tonamilahyene/pseuds/tonamilahyene
Summary: Anthony (Crowley) is an adult teddy boy, who feels left out of his group of friends. Aziraphale and him meet are a very awkward moment, while Anthony and one of his friends are stealing records in a shop.
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	Moment's notice

“Come on, man. Don’t be a square.” was Richard’s answer to Anthony’s cowardice.

Stealing some candies at the grocery store was acceptable, but stealing records in a little shop felt way too risky right now. Anthony tried to explain this to Richard, but quickly realised that his doubts weren’t important to his so-called friend.

“If you’re too stuck-up to do it, I’ll do it myself”, said Richard, almost whispering, “Stay here and give me a sign if you see any cops, okay?”

Anthony nodded, but Richard was already entering the shop. As soon as the door closed behind his friend, he let out a relieved sigh, and leaned against the wall in an attempt to look relaxed. He reached for his bag in an attempt to look busy, but felt dumb when he noticed that it was empty. He put the bag back on the floor near his feet, and proceeded to casually look at the surrounding architecture.. His efforts to look innocent weren’t effective, because someone came up to him.

“Are you okay, mister?” said a white-haired man in a fancy cream-coloured waistcoat.

Startled at the sudden interaction, Anthony looked up at the man’s face. He had a smile on his lips, but his eyes betrayed his concern. Wearing a tartan bow tie was a daring choice, and Anthony couldn’t help but smile at the sight. He looked up into the man’s eyes, and tried to determine if they were blue or grey. He decided that they were both. To be clear, he was undeniably handsome. At least, Anthony thought so.

“Yes, thank you.” tried Anthony, hoping it would be enough to reassure the man. It was not.

“Do you need to sit down?” offered he, gesturing ever so graciously towards a bench on the other side of the street, “You look a bit pale, dear.”

This is when Richard decided to rush out of the shop, obviously. He’d been caught by the owner of the shop and was now running away. Anthony decided that it was in his best interest to stay calm and act as if he didn’t know Richard. He knew where his friend was heading anyway, so finding him later would not be a problem. Right now, he had something else to deal with. An attractive man was standing right before him, that was startled at the sudden agitation around the shop, and still a bit shocked. He looked back at Anthony and gave him a friendly look, hoping the shock would be shared. Disappointment was felt when he realised that Anthony didn’t seem surprised, and was even - poorly - hiding a smile. He wondered what the smile was about, in vain.

“I think I should go now, sir.” said Anthony before leaving, pulling the man out of his thoughts. He left with a tiny smile, and was careful enough to avoid following Richard’s path.

Richard was a teddy boy, even though he was an adult. Being part of the dandy-looking rebels listening to Gene Vincent and Cliff Richard wasn’t all fun and games. He bet everything on his hairstyle and his rebellious actions, but was mean to everyone as if it made him seem cooler than the nice ones. Only showing specific parts of his personality was what made him feel less vulnerable. Having to work as a part-time seller in an antique shop in order to pay the rent was a pain in the arse, but he put up with it the best he could. It offered him the opportunity to have a good laugh when a weird old-fashioned loser entered the shop to buy a dusty nightstand.

His friend Anthony was a teddy boy too, as any of his friends should be. But he was way less rude, and ridiculously fearful. To people he was nothing but a shy guitar-player Elvis fan. But he felt left out, most of the time. He stuck with John Coltrane as his friends moved onto Chuck Berry. His apartment was a small, cheap thing that made him feel restricted. But it was good enough, and allowed him to be on his own when needed.

He met Richard in a bar, late at night. The exact same bar they were now heading to, almost five hours after the theft.

“...And he saw me take the record. At first he thought I was gonna approach him to pay for it, but then he realised. I saw it in his eyes, you know. The realisation” boasted Richard, “That’s when I rushed out and started running. I think he followed me, but I was too fast for his old little legs!” He started laughing, clearly proud of his exploits.

Pete and Tom laughed, before applauding their friend, knowing he loved being praised. A few of the people present in the bar turned their heads, wondering what all this fuss was about. When they saw the group of obnoxious-looking teddy boys, some of them sighed, while others rolled their eyes.

“Should I get us anything to drink?” offered Anthony, anxious about the looks they were getting. Surprisingly, he hated being the center of attention, but this group of friends made him feel included in something fun. He felt alive, and that, to him, was worth any kind of discomfort. He got up after getting positive answers to his question, and headed for the bar counter. As he was ordering four glasses of whiskey, he noticed a familiar-looking silhouette in the corner of his eye. He turned his head and laid his eyes on a white-haired man wearing cream-y coloured clothes. Recognising him right away, he looked back at the bartender and acted as natural as he could. Luckily for him, the man didn’t see him, as he was busy chatting with another client. Anthony had to go back to his seat before the man saw him. Fortunately, the bartender handed the drinks to him, on a tray so he could carry all four drinks at once.

As he got back to his seat and handed everyone their drinks, he let his eyes wander toward the man again. If he turned his head and saw them, he would discover that Anthony is Richard’s friend, which would make him an accomplice of the stealing that took place this afternoon. He had to find a way to get out of this situation as soon as possible.

“Err… what about we go to that pool table over there? I haven’t played in so long!” tried Anthony, still very bad at hiding his emotions. But apparently, he was lucky tonight, because none of his friends brought it up, and they all agreed to play pool.

“Okay, we have to play in teams.” started Richard, “I’ll be with Pete, and Tom you’ll play with Anthony. Does that work for you?”

“Yup, absolutely. Should we order new drinks?” answered Tom, picking up the cues and handing them to each of his friends. “Yes” was everyone’s answer.

As the game went on, Anthony, who was in the winning team - and quite drunk, at this point -, got louder and louder. That drew a lot of attention to them, and what was to happen happened: _The man_ , who was with a group of friends, abandoned them to get a closer look at the source of such noise. He easily recognised Anthony, that he encountered only a few hours before, and was just as quick when it came to recognise Anthony, unfortunately. He rapidly linked everything that was to be linked, and locked eyes with Anthony for a few seconds. The latter was the one who broke the eye-contact.

“Hey, guys, I think we should go now. We’re making a fuss here, and we should get back home to rest.” suggested Anthony, burning under the man’s gaze.

“Ugh, Anthony, please don’t be a bore. Live a little!” said Pete, loudly, with a not-so-friendly tap on Anthony’s shoulder, “You’re always so dull!”

“Why do you always have to care about other people? We’re having fun, for god’s sake!” said Richard, either because he liked to rub it in, or being he liked being the last one to talk. Either way, Anthony had had enough of their bullshit and turned to Tom: “I’m out of here. You’re coming?” but was disappointed at the negative answer.

Anthony sighed and left anyway, wondering if it was his last night out with them.

As soon as he reached the outside of the bar, somebody hesitantly poked his shoulder. He turned, only to see that it was _the man_.

“Anthony, right?”

“Right.”

“Can I ask you something that’s been bothering me since we first met this afternoon?”

“I guess, yes.” said Anthony, half curious, half worried.

“How the hell do you fit in those tight pants?” chuckled the man, breaking the ice.

Anthony’s face relaxed as he smiled, before he burst into laughter. He didn’t really have to answer this, so he decided not to.

“Should we… find a bench or something?” hesitated Anthony, but he didn’t let the man answer, for he added, “Wait! What’s your name?”

“Aziraphale.”

“Aziraphale? Now that’s not common!” said Anthony, surprised.

“I know, I chose it!” answered Aziraphale, with a wink.

“If I could pick a new name, I think I’d go with something like Crawley, like a snake, you know?” He was proud that he was able to come up with something so cool.

“Why a snake?” asked Aziraphale, doubtful.

“Why not?” replied Anthony, hiding his hurt behind his sudden rudeness. He was instantly filled with regret, and changed the subject, “Have you heard that Miles Davis is coming back?”

“Yes. But, how are you into jazz? I’m not one for judging, but as you’re a teddy boy, I assumed that you were the rockabilly type.”

Anthony felt stupid for a second, because he never shared this part of himself. He was very ashamed to be into jazz, because it wasn’t a common thing upon teddy boys anymore. Being into rockabilly was supposed to be his only thing, if he wanted to fit in.

“Ahem… well, I usually don’t talk about this.” he looked away, wishing that he didn’t forget his sunglasses home. Hiding his eyes would’ve been of use right now. Firstly, he hated his eyes. He thought them dull because brown, and way too expressive for his own good.

Aziraphale looked at Anthony with a soft smile and whispered, “Look at me.” He waited until their eyes met, and before he could continue, Anthony talked: “Do you want to hang in my apartment and listen to some Miles Davis, then? I’ve got some groovy sides.”

“Groovy sides?”

“Cool records…”

“That you stole?” joked Aziraphale, teasing Anthony.

“Obviously” he answered, with a wink. He felt more confident now, as they were finally hitting the road.

They arrived at Anthony’s apartment around twenty minutes later, after walking reasonably close. They did not want to draw attention to themselves, especially when it was this dark outside. Anthony opened the door that led to a long corridor.

“After you” said Aziraphale, with a timid smile.

Anthony went in, closely followed by his guest. They walked all the way to the door of his apartment and he looked at Aziraphale, feeling overwhelmed out of a sudden. But he couldn’t send Aziraphale back home now. And he wanted this.

Aziraphale entered the small room, and looked all around in awe. The walls were covered with posters of films and bands, and there were quite a few shelves full of well-organised books.

“I’m surprised, I wasn’t expecting something like this! It is quite fine” admitted Aziraphale.

“What? You thought it was going to be one of those grody places?” asked Anthony, unsure about what to think at that moment.

“No! Well...maybe. I’m sorry, but we hear a lot of things about teddy boys. I probably shouldn’t listen to what strangers say…”

“Yeah, probably not.” Anthony replied, before heading to his records collection, “Are you still in the mood for some Miles Davis, then?”  
When he didn’t get an answer, he glanced at Aziraphale who was awkwardly standing in the middle of the room, looking at the books on the shelves, and decided to tease him, “Hey daddy-o, you can sit down you know.”

Coming to his senses and blushing heavily at the nickname Anthony gave him, Aziraphale stuttered something unintelligible and gave up trying, before he finally sat down, in the nearest chair. Anthony tried his best not to chuckle, and turned his back on Aziraphale to hide his own red cheeks. After a few seconds, he reiterated, “So, what about Miles Davis?”

“Anything you want.” answered Aziraphale with a soft voice. Anthony could tell that he was smiling, and that made his heart flutter. He quickly chased that feeling, as best as he could, and picked his favourite Miles Davis album: Birth of the cool. He skipped the first two songs, to fit his mood. As the music started, he turned his back on his turntable to face Aziraphale, and started dancing jokingly. He walked - danced - closer to Aziraphale, trying to follow the beat of Moon Dreams playing in the background, and eventually offered his hands to Aziraphale with a smile. The latter got up from his seat, and let his hand slip into Anthony’s. The sudden contact made him blush even more, but he didn’t care anymore. They’d only met a few hours ago, but it felt as if they’d known each other since the beginning of time. They danced in each others’ arms until Budo started playing, and changed the mood. They’re not mad about it though, and they both sat down on the little sofa. After a few seconds of silence, Aziraphale realised that they’re still holding hands, and he broke the contact, suddenly feeling exposed and vulnerable.

“What do you do, when you’re not at the bar?” started Anthony, trying not to pay attention to the loss of contact.

“I’m a librarian. And I love my job, that is why I was so interested in your books, earlier” explained Aziraphale, blushing - once again - as he remembered the nickname Anthony gave him then.

Anthony got up in a strangely attractive way, almost throwing himself out of the chair, and looked for a specific book. After a little while, he found it, “This is my favourite. I know it doesn’t fit my teddy boy style either but, if I may use such funky words, it’s bee’s knees.” said he, clearly excited to share his love for the said book, while handing it out to Aziraphale. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen.

A wide-eyed Aziraphale said “Aren’t you full of surprises, dear?”

Anthony looked down with a shy smile, but rapidly came back to his senses “19th century literature is the bomb, right?”

“Yes, the bomb, absolutely” replied Aziraphale, laughing at Anthony’s obvious softness. He looked down at the book and examined the beautiful cover.

“Where do you work, exactly?” asked Anthony after some time.

“In a little library just a few minutes away from the bar. But my goal is to own a bookshop. If I’m lucky enough, it’ll happen in a year or two.” said Aziraphale, full of hope.

“Swell !”

This is when the album came to an end, and they didn’t even bother putting another one. Because Anthony had already found his way back to his seat next to Aziraphale, and his hand was already on Aziraphale’s hand, which was on the book. They were now flipping through it, faking an interest in random pages, when they were really interested in how soft were the other’s lips. Aziraphale’s eyes were drawn to Anthony’s mouth, and he felt his cheeks burn at the sight.

“Can I lay my head on your shoulder?” asked Aziraphale.

“Why?”

“Well… I’d love to, if you’re okay with the idea.”

“I- I am.” hesitated Anthony, more out of shyness than discomfort.

Aziraphale looked at Anthony’s lips one last time before resting his head on his shoulder. He couldn’t see his lips anymore, but it wasn’t a problem because he could smell his perfume.

Perfume?

Another surprise. He really shouldn’t listen to what people say about teddy boys… or maybe Anthony was just something else. Either way, he smelled good, and Aziraphale let himself be submerged with emotions. To him, the silence wasn’t heavy, nor awkward. It was very noisy, in fact. Aziraphale’s heart was pounding in his chest, and he focused on this rhythmic sound.

Still faking interest in his book, Anthony was trying his best to listen to Aziraphale’s breathing, and ignore his own thoughts. He was certain that Aziraphale could feel his heartbeat, and he felt naked. The urge to put some music on grew in him, hoping it would give them something else to focus on. But pulling away from Aziraphale’s tenderness was out of the question. So he stayed there, and started thinking of something to say to seem relaxed, without sounding nonchalant. Before he could come up with anything, Aziraphale put his right arm around his waist, and let out a contented sigh when Anthony kissed his hair.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Hanap for helping me, as a beta.


End file.
